EXCLUSIVE: Dogwoof Films has picked up UK rights to Koutaiba Al Janabi’s controversial drama Leaving Baghdad, which had its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival.

Dogwoof head Andy Whitaker sealed the deal in Cannes, with plans for a UK release later this year.

The film is a road movie, shot in Iraq, UK and Hungary, about Saddam Hussein’s personal cameraman (played by Sadiq Al-Heffner) who is haunted by the strange disappearance of his son and seeks to escape to the UK.

The drama is intercut with real footage of Saddam celebrating a child’s birthday as well as brutal real film of torture and killings by Saddam’s men.

UK distributor Dogwoof Films specialises in challenging dramas and documentaries, opening Restrepo last year, and with Countdown To Zero, Bobby Fischer Against The World and Page One - A Year Inside The New York Times to open in coming months.